Outbound Talent to CSU vs Inbound Talent from Toledo

[formerlurker]

If a player commits because of the Dairy Bar, I dont want them on the team.

 

[Windham4th]

It was a joke

But really, what’s not to like?

View attachment 115647

I know it was a joke. My response was one too.

 

[Palatine]

If a player commits because of the Dairy Bar, I dont want them on the team.

Ben Gordon committed because of the cows. Don't discount the dairy bar.

 

[TheDude]

Take this as you may, but we are in the early stages of portal commits as there are a ton of holes to fill. The Toledo players were first to be courted due to relationships, etc. After this first phase of commits, you will see portal recruits from all over.

I am hoping for the Toledo safety and center. That would be it.

 

[UCFBfan]

Is there incentive for proven P4 talent to go to UConn? My concern is that it might be more difficult to get good OH/MI talent to UConn as some may have gone to Toledo because it was close to home.

This will always be a struggle here unless we land in a P4 conference. Nailing head coach hires is beyond important here. Mora had success luring players here because of his NFL background and a lot of college players want someone like that. Mora left the next thing that brings portal/recruits, a winning team. Candle needs to carry the momentum forward and higher players will want to come here, even if it’s just for a year. Otherwise we can’t offer as much. We don’t have a conference. Dave has done an amazing job at keeping that CBS TV deal but we really don’t get massive exposure. Plus let’s face it, CFB isn’t really huge up here.

So the incentive will always need to be a coach that can help prep players for the NFL and have a record of getting them there. Or a coach who is a consistent winner. Candle has shown he can do that at Toledo.

 

[jdb50]

We are known as a basketball school for good reason but at every football game this year we had more fans than the PBA can hold. And we got off to a poor start this season. UConn FB is our NFL team basically. People are there for FB in our State if we field a competitive team. It is a fun affordable day for folks. And just like back in the day when we got into the BE for BB there was a big fanbase that was ready to be relevant in BB there is that fanbase that wants that for FB.

 

[AllHusky]

Is there incentive for proven P4 talent to go to UConn? My concern is that it might be more difficult to get good OH/MI talent to UConn as some may have gone to Toledo because it was close to home.

Don't worry my man, competitors go where competitors compete. Storrs is going to be even more competitive for FB 12 months from now!

 

[jskwrite]

I think people are overlooking that Toldeo was actually pretty good with this talent in 2025. They lost 5 games but they could have won all but the Washington State game (all their wins were blowouts). We lost 4 - we could have lost 6 or could have gone undefeated. Other than us beating Duke at home and them losing at Kentucky, the schedules weren't too different. Toledo was ranked 2 years ago - we haven't been ranked in over a decade. This isn't just "some MAC team" and we aren't becoming UMass.

I will start to worry if I don't know who the QB1, RB1 and WR1 + WR2 are going to be. There's so much jockeying that has to happen between now and then. This is about what we are paying guys at this point. If UConn is a top G6 destination, it will be fine. We have the money and facilities.

 

[Dizzy21]

For reference, based on 247 HS ratings, 6 of the people he has brought over from Toledo would have been in our top 25 EVER recruited here. He is definitely not bringing a bunch of scrubs, but what appears to be really quality guys and if you go by the rankings, better than Mora brought here.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Don't worry my man, competitors go where competitors compete. Storrs is going to be even more competitive for FB 12 months from now!

Not worried. Just think it a bit unrealistic that that a bunch of proven, playing P4 players are going to go to UConn and not another P4 school. Some of those MAC transfers possible could have gone to P4 schools instead of UConn.

 

[AllHusky]

We need to beat JMU, Tulane, Syracuse, BC etc

 

[DoctorWho85]

It's difficult to say.

On the one hand, I think DoctorWho85 might be right that we can go 13-0 and fall just shy of the playoffs due to bias.

On the other hand, I think he's wrong... we're winning the whole thing...

Got me there

 

[Woof 101]

I appreciated what Mora did for UConn as the last 2 seasons have been a great success. But, I don't think Mora was building a sustainable model for winning and Candle is now dealing with fixing it. What do I mean? Mora really deemphasized high school recruiting and depended too much on the transfer portal. His HS recruiting class sizes his last 3 years averaged about 13 players per year which is too low in my opinion due to normal attrition which has increased due to the transfer portal. During the same 3 years, Candle brought in ~21 high school recruits per year at Toledo which I think is a much better number.

No attack but the portal and players now getting paid is the new world order for college football. Bringing in freshman to an extent is a thing of the past sad to say. We can only hope he can bring in a dozen or more linemen from the portal for next season or we are in deep doo doo.
There is no way head coaches emphasize high school recruiting over the portal these days. Its all about the money and not having to wait for years for a player to develop. No longer a amateur sport.

 

[AllHusky]

No attack but the portal and players now getting paid is the new world order for college football. Bringing in freshman to an extent is a thing of the past sad to say. We can only hope he can bring in a dozen or more linemen from the portal for next season or we are in deep doo doo.
There is no way head coaches emphasize high school recruiting over the portal these days. Its all about the money and not having to wait for years for a player to develop. No longer an amateur sport.

Diversification is a sound investment philosophy. Having a 15-20 frosh class each year will be a developmental hedge against portal turnover. Candle modus operandi has shown retention of roster to be a strength.

 

[Hskies4Ever]

Toledo has been recruiting better than us consistently. Perhaps Mora did better with transfers, but Toledo has talent.

I learned this morning that one of the Toledo transfers was originally a 4 star out of high school. UConn has never gotten a 4 star out of high school.

You should not be afraid of being like Toledo.

 

[UConnJim]

No attack but the portal and players now getting paid is the new world order for college football. Bringing in freshman to an extent is a thing of the past sad to say. We can only hope he can bring in a dozen or more linemen from the portal for next season or we are in deep doo doo.
There is no way head coaches emphasize high school recruiting over the portal these days. Its all about the money and not having to wait for years for a player to develop. No longer a amateur sport.

No, you have to bring in HS athletes. Why? Some will develop and you need depth. If they develop, you can pay them. If they don't develop, it's off to the portal. And, HS athletes for a G6 school are cheaper than getting portal players for depth.

 

[gioff2323]

I learned this morning that one of the Toledo transfers was originally a 4 star out of high school. UConn has never gotten a 4 star out of high school.

You should not be afraid of being like Toledo.

See Difton, Dwayne.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I learned this morning that one of the Toledo transfers was originally a 4 star out of high school. UConn has never gotten a 4 star out of high school.

You should not be afraid of being like Toledo.

But, exactly like this transfer, UConn has brought in several 4-star transfers over the years.

 

[Waquoit]

See Difton, Dwayne.

A 4-star that could actually play, not yet.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Chin Diesel]

As the dust settles over the next few weeks and the new players and new staff transition in to spring ball, I'd love to see the staff take a returning Husky and a transferred Toledo player from each position group and have them take ownership of the players at each position.
The Husky player can show the new transfers the ins and outs of UConn and Storrs- where to eat, who does the hair cuts, where not to park if you want to avoid tix and getting towed, etc.
The Toledo players can take the lead in show returning Huskies how coach wants stuff done for meetings, drills, workouts, check ins, etc.
Each group has something to show the other group to make the transition for all the players and staff as smooth as it can be in the portal/NIL era with a new coaching staff.

 

[Hskies4Ever]

See Difton, Dwayne.

Not a consensus 4 star - but you are technically correct.

 

[Hskies4Ever]

But, exactly like this transfer, UConn has brought in several 4-star transfers over the years.

Sure but it’s almost like you’re purposely missing the point. If Candle can get a 4 star to commit to Toledo out of high school, imagine what he can do here.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Sure but it’s almost like you’re purposely missing the point. If Candle can get a 4 star to commit to Toledo out of high school, imagine what he can do here.

Nah. Not missing any point. I'm more of a Mussouri "Show Me State" kinda guy than a John Lennon "Imagine" kinda guy.

I want to see the coach bring in high level talent from any source.

 

[UC1995]

I appreciated what Mora did for UConn as the last 2 seasons have been a great success. But, I don't think Mora was building a sustainable model for winning and Candle is now dealing with fixing it. What do I mean? Mora really deemphasized high school recruiting and depended too much on the transfer portal. His HS recruiting class sizes his last 3 years averaged about 13 players per year which is too low in my opinion due to normal attrition which has increased due to the transfer portal. During the same 3 years, Candle brought in ~21 high school recruits per year at Toledo which I think is a much better number.

Absolutely agree. Happy we had him for a stretch but he got lucky at QB (not his find by the way) and WR and he had rode that until he was going to leave at the end of this year. It was smart on his end timing wise but put us a terrible disadvantage going into this recruiting cycle.